Transcript

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>> The Secretary General has called in clear terms for the release of the journalists and urged the authorities to respect the right to freedom of expression and information.>> Myanmar faced severe international condemnation at a UN Security Council hearing Tuesday for alleged human rights abuses. And for arresting two Reuters journalists who were investigating the reported massacre of Rohingya Muslims in the country.

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Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were detained in December and face trials and charges of violating Myanmar's colonial era Official Secrets Act. They've been held without bail, and if found guilty could face up to 14 years in prison.>> We strongly call for their immediate and unconditional release.

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>> On Friday Reuters published an extensive 4,500 word report on the massacre, which the news agency says prompted the arrest of the two journalists. The Reuters report describes in detail how soldiers and Buddhist villagers killed ten Rohingya men last September and buried the victims in a single mass grave.

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The investigation based on eye witness accounts for Buddhist villagers and the military themselves, includes graphic photographs of the Rohingya men tied up before and after their execution in Inn Din. A Myanmar government spokesman said action would be taken if the allegations were found to be true. And Myanmar's ambassador to the UN said the country respects press freedoms and that the Reuters journalists were not arrested for their reporting.

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>> These and other shocking reports of great abuses demand our attention and action for the sake of lasting peace and justice.>> Over 7,000 Rohingya Muslims have been killed in the violence described by world leaders and human rights groups as ethnic cleansing>> The world is watching and waiting for Burma to act.

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>> Almost 700,000 Rohingya have also fled across the border into Bangladesh to escape the violence,